Hungarian PM Not Concerned About ‘Getting Sacked’

By

Gergo Racz

May 10, 2012 4:30 pm CET

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban knows what it’s like to be ousted from office and isn’t particularly concerned that it might happen again. Halfway into his second premiership, his governing Fidesz party is still comfortably ahead in the polls, but Mr. Orban will be given a run for his money if he wants to win reelection in 2014.

Despite considerable erosion in its support, Fidesz has been able to keep its two-thirds parliamentary group intact and in line.

“Preserving a considerable margin of support for halftime is a major success for the governing party,” Orsolya Szomszed, political analyst at the Nezopont research institute, told WSJ Emerging Europe.

Now, much depends on how Hungarian voters will respond to a major economic plan that introduces new taxes, among other measures, with the declared goal of fueling economic growth.

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